Last year ended almost as quickly as it started for the Brunswick football team when quarterback Todd Stafford crumpled to the turf with a season-ending knee injury in the second quarter of the opening game, leaving the Bruins without their highly touted signal-caller and field leader.

It was the second time in as many years that Stafford, now a senior, was lost for the season due to injury.

Jimmy Knight performed well at times in relief of Stafford, but filling the shoes of a Division I prospect can be a daunting task.

Fast-forward 12 months and the UMass-bound Stafford is back under center, giving the Bruins high hopes for a team full of experience in the powerful Erickson League.

"We are looking pretty strong. I see a lot of talent this year and the guys are pretty motivated," coach Jarrett Shine said. "The fact that Todd has a strong arm and we can stretch the field a little bit. In his mind he has a lot to prove. He still has to prove a lot to a lot of people and he is ready to make some good decisions on the field and he is ready to put the team on his back and carry us."

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Brunswick Bruins
COACH: Jarrett Shine (4th year)
2011 RECORD: 1-7
PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Todd Stafford, TE/DE Dylan Wadsworth, OL/DL Willy Rosato, WR/DB Sam Fraser
REASON TO SMILE: Stafford is back after missing most of the last two seasons with knee injuries.
REASON TO WORRY: The offensive and defensive lines are undersized and in the Erickson League will routinely face much larger players.
OUTLOOK: The Bruins lost a heartbreaker in the final game of the season against Trinity-Pawling, showing they were starting to come together as the season wound down, despite losing several key players to injury.
The Bruins play in a league featuring some of the best players in New England, including some doing post-graduate years, so they have to function as a cohesive until to have any chance at winning.
A .500 record would have to be considered a victory considering the competition, but if Stafford plays well and the team gels, the Bruins could send shock waves around New England this fall.

Helping Stafford's return will be an offensive line that only lost one player from last season and brings back Willy Rosato, Nick Ulanoff and Pat Adamo.

The line is generally smaller than most of the teams they will face in the league, so playing as a unit is of greater importance than winning individual matchups.

"If we don't function as a unit, we basically accomplish nothing, especially in the zone blocking scheme we run," Rosato, senior tri-captain, said. "We are all pretty good friends and we work pretty well together, so, that is how we have to make it work with the under sized line."

Having speedy wideouts such as Sam Fraser and Henry Taylor will also help ease Stafford's return to the field.

AT THE HELM: Shine is starting his fourth year as head coach of Brunswick, the school he graduated from in 1992.

WHO'S GONE: WR/DB Donqutae Robinson will be missed more than anybody. As the most athletic member of last season's team, Robinson, now at Marist College, did it all last year after Stafford went down, even lining up under center in an attempt to get the ball into his hands.

WHO'S BACK: The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Stafford leads a group of returning players who have seen what the league has to offer including captains Dylan Wadsworth (TE/DE), Addison Pierce (TE/LB) and Rosato.

Also back are WR/DB Fraser, DL Trey Cammisa, WR/DB Taylor and OL Ulanoff

This group of players is focused on going out on a winning note after a couple of losing seasons.

"This league is all about experience," Pierce said. "Last year was a disappointing season but I would love to get back at it and have Brunswick become a new dominating team."

WATCH OUT FOR: Stafford's injury was bad, but losing the 6-2, 220-pound Wadsworth to a broken leg a few games later may have stung just as much.

The Bruins wanted to use a two-tight end formation last season, but with Pierce on the sidelines with an injury this preseason, Shine likes what he has seen from the junior Wadsworth as the lone tight end, saying his size and hands make him hard to handle.

"He is a physical guy and we are trying to match him up on a linebacker or a safety," Shine said. \"He can catch the ball very well, so, we they are not going to know if he is blocking or going out for a pass and if he goes out for a pass, he has some big hands, and is a big target."

STRENGTHS: Stafford, Wadsworth and the wideouts operating out of the spread formation for a full season could produce fireworks.

Stafford's presence alone lifts the Bruins.

"Todd, just his stature and how he can dominate the field while he's on it," Wadsworth said. "I think if we take care of responsibilities, because we know what to do and we have the ability, and staying disciplined I think we will be all right."

WEAKNESSES: The Bruins are very young at running back and will use a committee until one player steps up and grabs the role for himself.

Establishing the running game as a balance to the spread passing attack will be critical for the Bruins.

SHOWDOWNS: The Bruins open at Taft, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and open at home against Avon Old Farms Sept. 29, host Berkshire Oct. 13 and Hopkins Nov. 3 under the lights.